Display device and holder for neckties



Oct. 24, 1939. JENKINS 2,177,181

' DISPLAY DEVICE AND HOLDER FOR NECKTIES Filed Nov. 18, 1937 o o 7 LJ L L n (K o o o O -/-Z5' Q o 7 o Patented Oct. 24, 1939 PATENT OFFICE DISPLAYDEVICE AND HOLDER- FOR NECKTIES- Tazewell H. Jenkins, Chicago, 111.

Application November 18, 1937, Serial No.'175,181"

4 Claims.

The present invention has for its primary object to produce a simple and attractive device for. supporting a considerable number of neckties in a small space while the neckties are hanging naturally in display formation from the usual folds midway between their ends.

The various features of novelty whereby .my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims;

but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,

wherein: V

1'5 Figure 1 is a front view of a device embodying the present invention, two neckties being shown as hanging therefrom; Fig. 2' is a top plan view of the device, the greater part of the gate member being broken away; Fig. 3 is an end view of 20- the device, the neckties being omitted; Fig. 4

is a rear view of one end of the device removed from the supporting panel, portions of the flanges on the sheet metal base panel being broken away; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5--5 ofFig. 3; 25 andFig. 6 is a section on line 66 of Fig. 3.

v Referring to the drawing, I is a narrow rectangular sheet metal panel of any desired length, depending upon the number of neckties or other articles to be accommodated. Projecting from 30 one face of the member I are two rows of article-engaging devices distributed along the two long edges of the panel and lying in two planes parallel to each other and at right angles to the panel. When the articles to be supported and 33 displayed are neckties, one row of said articleengaging devices may consist of wire fingers 2 and the other row of long narrow wire loops 3. The elements 2 and 3 are equal in numbers and, when the panel is placed in an upright posi- 40 tion with the fingers 2 along the upper edge,

, there is a loop directly below each finger. Both fingers and loops are disposed in planes at right angles to the panel, but are inclined in the lateral direction so as to lie at acute angles to the plane of the panel. The reason for the lateral inclination of the elements 2 and 3 is to cause the neckties, when hung on the fingers, as at A and B, in Fig. l, to present their faces, in-

50 stead of their edges, to the view of an observer in front of the holder. Thus the observer is enabled to see just what each necktie in an entire row is like, without removing it from the holder. The free ends of the fingers are pref- 55 erably bent up, as indicated at 4, to prevent the ties from slipping off should the holder be tilted forwardly.

The loops 3 are preferably about as long as the effective length of the fingers, so that an article narrow enough to be hung upon a finger 5 can pass through the underlying loop without creasing or folding or wrinkling. If desired, of course, the neckties may be inserted between adjoining loops, although this disposition does not make provision against accidental or other 10 withdrawal of neckties from between the guides and the consequent disturbance of the neat display effect if the ties are not put back in place.

It will be seen that it is a simple matter to insert or remove a necktie. The tie being folded double as is customary, the fold end is simply moved up through one of the loops and slipped over the corresponding finger. To remove the tie the fold end is simply lifted off the finger, and the tie may then be slipped down until it clears the guide loop therefor. More than one tie may, of course, be suspended from each finger. Thus,

a device having a dozen fingers may hold one dozen, two dozen, or even three dozen ties.

When the fingers and guide devices are attached to a sheet metal base element, the latter is preferably mounted on a sturdy back or base.

In the arrangement shown, the panel I is attached to the front side of a rigid panel or plate 5, which is only slightly longer than the member I but is muchwider and thus forms an effective background for the articles which .are being supported and displayed. The device may be hung up by means engaged in eyelets 6, 6 near the upper edge of the member 5.

In order to shield the neckties against dust that would settle down upon them from above and thus soil them, if left undisturbed for substantial periods of time, I provide a cover that normally forms a roof over the ties. In the arrangement shown, the cover is in the form of a gate or door I as long as the row of fingers and wide enough to extend from the panel I to the upturned portions 4 of the fingers. The gate or door is connected to the base 5 by hinges 8 interposed between the rear edge of the gate or door and the said base. Normally this gate dropsdown upon the fingers and covers anything that may be on the fingers. When an article is to be removed from or placed on the device, the gate is simply swung up out of the way, exposing the fingers and the articles there- For ease in manufacture, I prefer to form the fingers 2 in pairs, each pair constituting the invention,'I do not desire to be limited to the arms of a distorted U whose closed end or yoke portion 9 is flattened. The panel I is initially formed with trough-shaped marginal portions l and H along the long edges thereof. The bottom wall of the trough H) has holes l2 arranged in pairs of holes spaced apart as far as the two arms of a finger unit. The arms of the finger units are inserted through the holes 12 and then the free, outer wall l3, of the trough i9, is turned inward against the. flattened .portions 90f the fingerunits, securing the units in place and preventing them from turning about the axes of parts 9.

The outer side wall IA of the trough ll is provided with notches I5 extending entirely across the same and into the bottom wall of the trough. v The width of these notches is at least as great as twice the diameter of the wire of which the loops 3 are made. The free ends of thearms of each loop 3 are bent inwardly toward each other, in theplane thereof, toform two oppositely disposed Us, l6 and ii, having their closed ends. facing each other. The free end of the free arm of each U is bent so as to lie transversely of the plane. of the loop, as indicated at l8, I8. Upon pressing the arms of the loop together until the members 16 and l! touch each other, the meeting yokes of the Us' l6 ancl I! may be inserted'in onejof the notches l5 and moved along the same a holder for household use, having perhaps a dozen fingers, is sufficientlysmall' and compact to permit it to be carried conveniently in the .users'hand' luggage, thereby making it unnecessary for the user to select a tie or two'from his supply, as he can take along the lot. f

The invention is particularly adapted for holding and'displaying neckties, but it will be evident that other articles may be handled in like man-I er. If the nature ofthe article requiresit, obviouslythe structural details of the holder must ,be alteredto meet the needsof that type of article.

While Ihave illustrated and describedwith particularity only a single preferred form of my exact structural details thus illustrated and describedjbut intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of p to said face, and a row of guide devices each.

made from wire formed'i'nt'o along, narrow open loop projecting forward from said member and adapted to embrace a necktie,below the row of fingers, there being a guide device below each 'finge r,said guidedevices being adapted to receive neckties or the like looped over the fingers and dependin from the latter. 7

2. A holder for neckties or other articles comprising a support having a vertical face, a horizontal row of long fingers projecting forward from said face with the fingers making an acute angle with said face in the plane of the fingers, the freeend of said fingers being upturned, means on the said member below said fingers to engage neckties folded between their ends and hung from said fingers and thereby hold the neckties in their natural pendant states, and'agatede1 vice on said member above said fingers extending forwardly to said upturned ends and adapted to form a roof over the articles supported by the fingers.

3.,A device of the character described, comprisinga sheet metal panelhaving a series of notches distributed along'anedge thereofl wire loops each having portions near their free ends" extending inwardly toward each other tobring them close enough together to enter one ofsaid notches and then extending outwardly to provide elements lying behind andin contact with the paneL-the extreme end portions of saidelements lying inja plane transverse tojtheplane of the loop; and the marginal portion of the notched section'of the panelbeing folded over upon said outwardly-extending portions andthef extreme end portions of the loop wires. 4'. A device of the character described, comprisinga long rectangular sheet metal panel having openings therethrough in the vicinity of and distributedalong its long edges, wire fingers extending through one set of openings and projecting from the front face of the panel, the mar ginal portion of the panel adjacent to said fingers being deformed to lock the fingers in place, a row.

of open, wire loops "having portions extending through the other set of holes, and the marginal portion of the panel adjacent to the loops being deformed tosecure the loops each in parallelism with one of the fingers. I

' TAZEWELL H. JENKINS. 

